Towards Data Justice Unionism? A Labour Perspective on AI Governance

The dual occurrences of constant data collection and use of artificial and autonomous systems in the workplace are having a profound impact on workers’ lives. Workers are subjected to constant surveillance that not only monitor worker productivity but factors unrelated to work. At the same time, machine learning systems are using these data to transform how work is being allocated, assessed and completed and as a result, worker lives and value in the workplace and beyond. Yet governance frameworks for AI have thus far been advanced with a noticeable absence of worker voice, unions, and labour perspectives. In this chapter I will discuss how concerns about data and data infrastructures need to be situated as part of a workers’ rights agenda, the role of the labour movement in advancing alternative governance frameworks, and the potential for data justice unionism.